Engineers Act: The Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec proposes improvements to Bill 29

MONTREAL, Aug. 27, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - The Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec used the consultations today at the National Assembly to draw MNAs' attention to improvements that need to be made to Bill 29 so that the future Engineers Act can be more easily implemented by the many economic and institutional actors concerned.

"We thank the government and the Minister of Justice for giving this matter priority. We salute the major advances in modernizing a law that essentially dates back to 1964, but we feel it is essential for some aspects of the bill to be clarified and improved," stated OIQ President Kathy Baig, Eng., FEC, MBA.

The OIQ's main recommendation resulting from this summer's consultations with stakeholders of the profession and engineers from several fields of practice concerns the distinction between mobile and fixed structures included in the bill. This distinction is ambiguous and should be withdrawn.

To ensure that the future Act remains relevant for years to come, the OIQ also feels it necessary to complete the list of engineering documents that must be certified or prepared by an engineer.

The OIQ makes a series of concrete proposals to help MNAs make the Act as clear as possible for the numerous actors that implement it.

Supervising work to improve quality

In Canada, Québec is currently the only province that does not impose any form of engineering work supervision. Therefore, the OIQ sees this bill as an opportunity for MNAs to improve the quality of engineering work.

"Québec has cleaned up the public contract award processes, but the quality control culture still needs to be improved. Supervision is an investment in the quality of our infrastructures. It would be beneficial for clients, consumers and tax payers," explained the President of the OIQ.

The OIQ's recommendation to make work supervision mandatory is supported by fifteen organizations,* including consumer associations, actors in the field of insurance, municipal contract supervisory organizations, other professional orders, and associations in the fields of construction and engineering.

Authorizing permanent restrictive permits

Given the current labour shortages, the OIQ would also like to make entering the job market easier for candidates who are highly specialized in cutting-edge fields ? especially internationally trained professionals ? but do not have all the competencies to practice the profession in an entire field of engineering practice. To achieve this, the OIQ is seeking authorization to issue permanent restrictive permits like those issued elsewhere in Canada.

The OIQ intends to work closely with all bodies concerned in the next steps of the legislative and regulatory process.

To read the OIQ's brief with its thirteen recommendations, click here.

*Organizations that support the principle of making work supervision mandatory:

• Corporation des entrepreneurs généraux du Québec
• Regroupement des gestionnaires et copropriétaires du Québec
• Association des consommateurs pour la qualité de la construction au Québec
• Insurance Bureau of Canada
• ENCON Group
• Office of the Inspector General of the City of Montreal
• Office of Professional and Administrative Integrity of the City of Saint-Jérôme
• Association des ingénieurs municipaux du Québec
• Association des firmes de génie-conseil - Québec
• Association des architectes en pratique privée du Québec
• Ordre des architectes du Québec
• Ordre des technologues professionnels du Québec
• Québec Interprofessional Council
• Faculty of Engineering of the Université de Sherbrooke
• Québec Confederation for Engineering Student Outreach (CRÉIQ)

About the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec
Founded in 1920, the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec has a membership of some 65,000 engineering professionals in all fields, except forest engineering. The OIQ's aim is to be a unifying organization and a reference for professionalism and excellence in engineering. Its mission is to protect the public by acting to ensure that engineers serve society with professionalism and integrity, in compliance with the laws, regulations and standards that govern the profession and in the public interest. For more information, go to oiq.qc.ca.

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SOURCE Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec